Ask the experts

[beaterdit]

I have a pair of unused industry nine trail S wheels I’d sell for cheap if you wanted something a bit nicer. XD driver. Take offs.

Might get extra resale… but depends on the bike and buyer.

Since it sounds like El Chupe’s all set, I’d be interested in those wheels if you want to move them. I’ll drop you a DM.

[El Chupacabra]

^^^ Have at it - I picked up the cheap Crank Bros wheels. They're in nice shape, spin smooth and true. Not very high engagement on the rear hub.

[Abies]

It’s raining and I’m bored, which means idly making spreadsheets and thinking about a new build. As my preferences change I’ve realized that while I like tinkering, I hate when I HAVE to work on stuff. So for people that have worked on a lot of stuff, if you were building a new full suspension trail/enduro rig what components would you pick if reliability was the number one concern? I’d define that as some combo of durability, long service intervals, and easy to work on. My thoughts so far:

- Probably coil front and rear although I don’t find most air suspension too hard to deal with.
- a frame with well sealed bearings placed in replaceable links.
- DT 350 hubs and probably the same for rims, unless going carbon.
- Mechanical SRAM drivetrains have held up well for me so I’d probably stick with that. Maybe a steel chainring.

Not sure what I’d do for brakes, dropper, and finishing kit.


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[Andeh]

You're definitely onto something with the frame & bearing detail. On every 4-bar bike I've owned without good shielding, they die quickly, like once a season. Well shielded bearings in links (like Santa Cruz) last years.

The one advantage people don't think about in the carbon vs. alu rim debate is that carbon stays true longer.

Service interval for mineral oil brakes is supposedly longer than DOT. So of the common ones, that leaves you with Shimano, TRP, & Magura. I'd pass on Shimano (wandering bite point) and Magura (keeping 4 independent pads from rubbing is a PITA), which leaves TRP. I haven't used them, but they get good reviews.

I've had good experiences using BikeYoke droppers before I went wireless, and the Wolf Tooth one is supposedly based on their design but even more geared towards reliability and ease of service.

I'm a big fan of Chris King bottom brackets and headsets. I live in a humid location, and CC 40s / FSA bearings die in months. CC 110s last about a year. CK just lasts forever for me.

[toast2266]

It’s raining and I’m bored, which means idly making spreadsheets and thinking about a new build. As my preferences change I’ve realized that while I like tinkering, I hate when I HAVE to work on stuff. So for people that have worked on a lot of stuff, if you were building a new full suspension trail/enduro rig what components would you pick if reliability was the number one concern? I’d define that as some combo of durability, long service intervals, and easy to work on. My thoughts so far:

- Probably coil front and rear although I don’t find most air suspension too hard to deal with.
- a frame with well sealed bearings placed in replaceable links.
- DT 350 hubs and probably the same for rims, unless going carbon.
- Mechanical SRAM drivetrains have held up well for me so I’d probably stick with that. Maybe a steel chainring.

Not sure what I’d do for brakes, dropper, and finishing kit.


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Personally I'd go coil rear, air front. I like the ease of adjustability of air in the front, and I'm not entirely sold on the coil options. And generally speaking, air forks aren't particularly maintenance intensive. But coil rear rides nice and is simple.

If you can deal with the reduced gear range, sram 11 speed is a good bit more bomber than the 12 speed stuff. But if you're going 12 speed, go X01. It's noticeably more robust than gx.

I find good quality carbon rims make for a wheel that's more bomber than aluminum. They don't dent, and they rarely go out of true. As long as you don't go crazy light, they'll last a long time.

1up dropper. That's an easy one.

If you want brakes that work the longest between bleeds, go code rsc's. They're not the most powerful, and they don't have the best lever feel, but they're pretty bomber. Mavens have more power but unclear if they have the same bomberness.

[Tailwind]

I'll echo toast on the air spring up front. The Air Spring never really needs to be serviced... dampers on the other hand need some care.

If you really wanted a fork that wouldn't need repairs maintenance or etc, getting a simpler damper could make sense. There is a significant ride quality difference but I do notice more degradation and issues with Grip2 Dampers over just the "Grip" damper. Years ago I ran a Rockshox Yari... which just seemed to work with zero complaints.

XT Link Glide would be on my radar for a setup that you don't need to work on. The Shimano 12 speed stuff is really really flimsy on the other hand... both SLX and XT RD's seems to wear out about as often as tires.

My brakes vote would be older Shimano XT's (8000 series) if you could find a new pair. Not the nicest but dead easy to work on and don't need much.

Also - seconded on the DT 350's. It's an easy choice.

[Abies]

Ok so with these crowdsourced data points, I’m thinking:

- Santa Cruz frame or something else not yet suggested.
- King headset and bottom bracket (although I don’t have issues with cane creek stuff personally)
- 11 speed X01 but with aluminum cranks, or link glide.
- Coil shock, maybe that Marzocchi one as it seems very simple.
- Z1 fork (GRIP damper, burly chassis)
- DT 350s, carbon rims or at least a carbon rear rim.
- 8020, code, or TRP brakes

not sure if it’s reassuring or not that I have half of this stuff already.


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[beaterdit]

Agree with Toast on all that, haha, I always agree with Toast.

Air front, coil rear here, XO 12 speed, 1UP V.1&2 posts, Code RSCs.

The new 1Up V.3 post looks sweet and it's not much more than the V.2, which have been great for me.

Code RSCs, they just work. As mentioned, not the most powerful but still plenty, and just bomber. I bleed once/year just because but I never feel the performance degrade.

Latest gen carbon rims are pretty bomber. Stay true and maintain uniform spoke tension. I'm on WAO Unions but the new Convergence looks awesome and they're on sale right now.

Agree with Andeh on headsets, Cane Creek 40s don't last for me either. The Utah dust I guess. I've had better luck with the 110 bearings but Chris King is the end-all-be-all for sure.

For a frame IDK. Seems like you can't go wrong with Santa Cruz. We're digging our Canfields, haven't had to do bearings yet but I've got a year on each frome. They are located in the links.

[jackstraw]

I just broke my sram level ult brake lever housing. I was thinking about replacing them with XT because I cannot stand sram brakes. These came on my Blur stock. All my other bikes have XT, so I guess I'm just used to that engagement.

Now I'm searching for the adapter to mount XT to AXS. Wolf Tooth sounds not ideal, idk. Has anyone done this?

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Wahoo adhesive flat top tube mounts?

Looks like 76 Projects is out of stock. Who else?

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[Andeh]

What happened to the 2 I sent you? Pull the one off the Gnarvana and just get some new double 3M tape.

[Dee Hubbs]

I just broke my sram level ult brake lever housing. I was thinking about replacing them with XT because I cannot stand sram brakes. These came on my Blur stock. All my other bikes have XT, so I guess I'm just used to that engagement.

Now I'm searching for the adapter to mount XT to AXS. Wolf Tooth sounds not ideal, idk. Has anyone done this?

SRAMs Matchmaker clamp will work. The silver square nut can be filed down a fraction on the sides to reduce its width and then it should fit inside the 8120 XT lever bracket opening. I like to use a little thread locker on the bolt once I dial the position, as the bolt is a tad short and only a few threads engage.

I've done this on both the the dropper and dropper side a few times. EDIT: the placement range is not as great as with a SRAM lever, but works well with AXS shifter angles.

Not my photo, but just showing how its done:

[jackstraw]

Right on, thanks Dee. Now I need to get mentally prepared to thread the brake line thru the rear triangle. I suck at that!

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

What happened to the 2 I sent you? Pull the one off the Gnarvana and just get some new double 3M tape.

It seems so stuck on there that I don't know how I'll get it off without breaking it. The second one I can't seem to find in my endless bins of parts for the last 10+ years.

[Andeh]

It seems so stuck on there that I don't know how I'll get it off without breaking it. The second one I can't seem to find in my endless bins of parts for the last 10+ years.

It'll come off fine, one of the 2 I had mounted on my GG. If you're worried, hit it with a little heat from a heat gun or hair drier, then just firmly but slowly peal it up from 1 end to the other.

Or get a K-Edge mount (the ones that replace a steerer spacer are great if you've got at least 5mm above your stem).

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

It'll come off fine, one of the 2 I had mounted on my GG. If you're worried, hit it with a little heat from a heat gun or hair drier, then just firmly but slowly peal it up from 1 end to the other.

Or get a K-Edge mount (the ones that replace a steerer spacer are great if you've got at least 5mm above your stem).

OK sweet. Can't do the k edge ones because of edc tool.

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[Roxtar]

SRAMs Matchmaker clamp will work. The silver square nut can be filed down a fraction on the sides to reduce its width and then it should fit inside the 8120 XT lever bracket opening. I like to use a little thread locker on the bolt once I dial the position, as the bolt is a tad short and only a few threads engage.

I've done this on both the the dropper and dropper side a few times. EDIT: the placement range is not as great as with a SRAM lever, but works well with AXS shifter angles.

Not my photo, but just showing how its done:

As a PSA, this method will also work when using Shimano I-Spec-EV shifters with Hope Tech 4 brakes. If you grind down the corner dimples on the Shimano integration nut , It will fit in the Hope brake lever mount.

[skinipenem]

Anyone know the turnaround time for fox x2 recall?

My x2 is recalled. It sounds like they straight up replace according to my suspension tuner.

I'm going to call fox tomorrow. Hopefully I can get an answer.

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[carlh]

Mine just got mailed today, can report back when I have a timeline

[Roxtar]

Ohlins didn't issue any recalls this year.
Just saying...

[EWG]

Anybody know if Time/SRAM has discontinued the ATAC series? Almost all the pedals and cleats went on sale 50% off a couple months ago and now they're all sold out. Wondering if it's a refresh, total redesign, dropping the product line or they just needed some liquid cash.

I'm deep in the ecosystem so I'm curious.

[toast2266]

Anybody know if Time/SRAM has discontinued the ATAC series? Almost all the pedals and cleats went on sale 50% off a couple months ago and now they're all sold out. Wondering if it's a refresh, total redesign, dropping the product line or they just needed some liquid cash.

I'm deep in the ecosystem so I'm curious.

I certainly hope not. I'm in the same boat.

I can't imagine SRAM bought Time just to kill it. I would assume a Sram branded pedal with Time guts is on the way. I'm kinda surprised it's not already here.

[singlesline]

Sure hope not--maybe there's a desire to break away from the name since they only own it for the pedals and not for the bikes or other parts?

I went on a quick search and saw XC2 on here for $29: https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...tribute=233835

If you don't care about adjusting tension or a couple extra grams, that's a whole set of pedals for barely more than the price of cleats. If I still had a commuter bike, I'd buy them to replace my old Aliums with their heavy metal bodies.

[NuMexJoe]

Sure hope not--maybe there's a desire to break away from the name since they only own it for the pedals and not for the bikes or other parts?

I went on a quick search and saw XC2 on here for $29: https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...tribute=233835

If you don't care about adjusting tension or a couple extra grams, that's a whole set of pedals for barely more than the price of cleats. If I still had a commuter bike, I'd buy them to replace my old Aliums with their heavy metal bodies.

Helluva deal, but note that those XC2s have the square profile retention bars. In my experience (and I'm another that's deep in the ecosystem) the round bars like on the Aliums are significantly more robust, which is why I switched to Times long ago. But yeah, fine for a commuter, and you get fresh cleats, too!

[Gerome]

It’s way past time for me to get my shocks rebuilt. I bought this 2018 Santa Cruz Nomad with 27.5 wheels from my neighbor in 2019 which is built up from extra parts from his garage. Currently I think the dampening piston has come unthreaded. Something rattles in the fork when I hit bumps and there just is no dampening.

What kind of front shock do I have? Fox 34 or 36? What do I need to order for the rebuild and are there good YouTube videos to learn how to rebuild the shock?

Should I have my LBS deal with the rear shock rebuild? Or Is there a good company that I can send my rear shock to? Currently running 300psi and there’s like 40% sag. Oops!






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